A design approach that focuses on building a robust core experience first, then adding more advanced features and capabilities for users with more capable browsers or devices. Essential for ensuring a consistent and accessible user experience across different devices and browsers.
A search system that allows users to narrow down search results by applying multiple filters based on different attributes or categories. Essential for improving user search experience and efficiency.
A visual tool for organizing information, typically starting with a central concept and branching out to related ideas and details. Essential for brainstorming, planning, and organizing complex information.
The process of setting short-term objectives and determining the actions needed to achieve them. Critical for aligning daily operations with strategic goals.
The complete set of experiences that customers go through when interacting with a company, from initial contact to post-purchase. Essential for understanding and optimizing each touchpoint in the customer lifecycle.
A principle stating that productivity increases when the computer and its user interact at a pace that ensures neither has to wait on the other. Important for designing responsive systems that enhance user productivity.
Numeronym for the word "Virtualization" (V + 12 letters + N), creating virtual versions of physical resources, such as servers, storage devices, or networks, to improve efficiency and scalability. Crucial for optimizing resource use and improving scalability.
A cognitive bias where individuals better remember the most recent information they have encountered, influencing decision-making and memory recall. Important for designing user experiences that leverage or mitigate the impact of recent information.
A predictive model of human movement that describes the time required to move to a target area, used to design user interfaces that enhance usability. Important for designing efficient and user-friendly interfaces.
A method of categorizing information in more than one way to enhance findability and user experience. Crucial for improving navigation, search, and overall usability of complex information systems.
A comprehensive list of all content within a system, used to manage and optimize content. Essential for organizing, auditing, and improving content strategy.
A design principle that ensures a system continues to function at a reduced level rather than completely failing when some part of it goes wrong. Crucial for enhancing system reliability and user experience in adverse conditions.
Application Programming Interface (API) is a set of tools and protocols that allow different software applications to communicate and interact with each other. Essential for integrating different systems and enabling functionality in digital products.
The ability to identify and interpret patterns in data, often used in machine learning and cognitive psychology. Crucial for designing systems that leverage pattern recognition for predictive analytics and user interactions.
The structural design of information environments, organizing and labeling content to support usability and findability. Essential for creating intuitive and navigable digital products.
An approach to information architecture that starts with the details and builds up to a comprehensive structure. Useful for designing flexible and detailed systems that can adapt to user needs.
Test-Driven Development (TDD) is a software development methodology where tests are written before the code that needs to pass them. Essential for ensuring high code quality and reducing bugs.
A non-production environment used for development and testing before deployment to production. Important for ensuring that changes are thoroughly tested before going live.
Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) is a prioritization method used in agile and lean methodologies to maximize value by comparing the cost of delay to the duration of tasks. Essential for effectively prioritizing work to ensure the highest value tasks are completed first.
Not Invented Here (NIH) syndrome refers to the aversion to using or buying products, research, or knowledge developed outside an organization. This mindset can hinder innovation and collaboration.
AI systems designed to generate creative content, such as art, music, and literature. Important for exploring new forms of artistic expression and automating creative processes.
A usability inspection method where experts review a user interface against a set of heuristics to identify usability issues. Crucial for identifying usability problems early in the design process.
The use of software tools to run tests on code automatically, ensuring functionality and identifying defects without manual intervention. Crucial for maintaining high code quality and efficiency in the development process.
Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS) is a standard for representing knowledge organization systems such as thesauri, classification schemes, and taxonomies. Essential for enabling interoperability and sharing of structured knowledge across different systems.
Product-Oriented Delivery (POD) is a methodology that focuses on organizing teams around products rather than projects. This approach is essential for enhancing product focus, agility, and cross-functional collaboration.
A time-constrained, intensive process that helps teams quickly design, prototype, and test ideas. Important for rapidly developing and validating design solutions.
Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a network of interconnected physical devices embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity, enabling them to collect and exchange data. Essential for creating smart, responsive environments and improving efficiency across various industries by enabling real-time monitoring, analysis, and automation.
The process of developing and maintaining a brand to ensure it meets business goals and customer expectations. Crucial for sustaining brand equity and achieving long-term success.
A design technique that involves showing only essential information initially, revealing additional details as needed to prevent information overload. Crucial for creating user-friendly interfaces that enhance usability and reduce cognitive load.
A common pattern of eye movement where users scan web content in an "F" shape, focusing on the top and left side of the page. Crucial for designing web content that aligns with natural reading patterns to improve engagement.
Also known as Magical Number 7 +/- 2, a theory in cognitive psychology that states the average number of objects an individual can hold in working memory is about seven. Crucial for designing user interfaces that align with human cognitive limitations.
The body of practical guidance to color mixing and the visual effects of specific color combinations. Crucial for understanding color relationships and creating effective visual designs.
The emotional attachment an employee feels toward their organization, which influences their desire to stay. Useful for understanding employee retention and motivation in organizational design and management.
The ability to deliver products or services in the most cost-effective manner without sacrificing quality. Key to reducing costs and improving profitability.
The ability to understand and share the feelings of customers, crucial for creating user-centered designs and experiences. Crucial for designing products that truly meet user needs and expectations.
The use of icons or graphical symbols to represent objects, actions, or concepts, enhancing usability and visual communication. Crucial for creating intuitive and accessible user interfaces.
A design philosophy that emphasizes core design principles over rigid adherence to standardized processes. Essential for maintaining creativity and innovation in large-scale, process-driven environments.
Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC) is a data-driven improvement cycle used in Six Sigma. Crucial for systematically improving processes and ensuring quality in digital product development.
Location, Alphabet, Time, Category, and Hierarchy (LATCH) is a framework for categorizing information. Useful for creating clear and intuitive information structures in digital products.
A prioritization technique where stakeholders use a limited budget to "buy" features they believe are most valuable, helping to prioritize the development roadmap. Useful for involving stakeholders in the decision-making process and aligning development priorities with business value.
The process of changing the corporate image of an organization, including its name, logo, visual identity, and messaging, to better align with its strategic goals. Important for revitalizing a brand and aligning it with current market positioning and business objectives.
A consensus-building technique where participants show their level of agreement or support by raising zero to five fingers. Useful for quickly gauging team agreement and making collaborative decisions in product design and development meetings.
The organization of content in a way that prioritizes and structures information according to its importance. Crucial for ensuring that users can easily find and understand information.
The tendency for individuals to favor information that aligns with their existing beliefs and to avoid information that contradicts them. Crucial for understanding how users engage with content and designing systems that present balanced perspectives.
A collection of design patterns that provides solutions to common design problems. Useful for standardizing design solutions and promoting best practices across projects.
A research approach that starts with a theory or hypothesis and uses data to test it, often moving from general to specific. Essential for validating theories and making informed decisions based on data.
An intermediary that gathers and provides information to users, typically in an online context. Important for helping users make informed decisions based on aggregated data.
Bottom of Funnel (BoFu) refers to the stage in the sales funnel where prospects are close to making a purchase decision. Important for tailoring marketing and sales efforts to convert leads into customers.
Tell, Don't Ask (TDA) is a design principle in software engineering that promotes encapsulation by having objects handle their own data and actions. Essential for maintaining object-oriented integrity and reducing dependencies in the code.
An evaluation process that assesses the effectiveness, efficiency, and alignment of product management practices and strategies with organizational goals. Essential for identifying areas for improvement and ensuring alignment with business objectives.
Features or elements added to enhance the functionality or user experience of a system. Crucial for improving user engagement and satisfaction by adding valuable enhancements.
A marketing concept that describes brands that inspire loyalty beyond reason, creating an emotional connection with consumers. Crucial for building strong brand loyalty and emotional engagement.
A cognitive bias where individuals overestimate their ability to control impulsive behavior, leading to overexposure to temptations. Important for designing systems that help users manage self-control and avoid overexposure to temptations.
A set of ten general principles for user interface design created by Jakob Nielsen to improve usability. Essential for evaluating and improving user interface designs.
The process by which search engines systematically browse the internet to index and retrieve information from websites. Essential for understanding how search engines discover and index web content.
A rule-of-thumb or shortcut that simplifies decision-making and problem-solving processes. Essential for designing user-friendly interfaces that facilitate quick and efficient decision-making.
A process by which users are automatically enrolled into a service or program, often used to increase participation rates. Useful for increasing user engagement and participation in services and programs.
Fundamental guidelines that inform and shape the design process, ensuring consistency, usability, and effectiveness in product creation. Essential for creating coherent, user-centered designs that align with organizational goals and user needs.
A writing style where the most important information is presented at the beginning, followed by supporting details in order of decreasing importance. Crucial for creating clear and effective information hierarchies in content design.
The tendency of consumers to continuously purchase the same brand's products over time. Essential for driving repeat business and ensuring long-term brand success.